This invention relates to a catamaran and more particularly to an improved catamaran construction that permits high speed operation, good stability and ease of maneuverability.
The advantages of catamarans over conventional hulls are well known. Because of their relatively great length in relation to their width, a catamaran is able to travel at high speed and has excellent lateral stability. However, by its very nature, a planing type catamaran has the disadvantage that it is significantly affected by waves and is not always comfortable to drive. A displacement type hull, on the other hand, cannot run at high speeds even though it is stable because of the greater water resistance.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved catamaran that has the advantages of a catamaran and also the advantages of driving comfort and stability of a more conventional displacement hull.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved catamaran construction that will permit high speed operation and which will also be comfortable to drive and stable in all water conditions.
Frequently catamarans are configured with sponsons and also with a center hull to accommodate the passengers. However, it has been found that the conventional type of center hull has certain disadvantages. That is, as the sponsons cut through the water traveling at high speed, they generate a wave pattern that tends to act against the center hull and cause the watercraft to nose down in the water or to offer excess resistance to forward travel.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved hull configuration for a catamaran wherein a central hull will not adversely affect the wave pattern or operation of the watercraft under high speed operation.
The design of the sponsons is also quite important to the operation of the watercraft. That is, the sponsons should be designed so as to have low water resistance but they should also permit the watercraft to be turned over relatively small turning circles. Conventionally, a catamaran has good stability when travelling in straight line, but is difficult to achieve sharp turns.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved sponson design for a catamaran that permits the watercraft to travel at high speeds with low water resistance and yet make relatively small radius turns.
Another problem or consideration with sponson design is the fact that as the speed of the watercraft increases, the front of the sponson tends to rise up and can cause some instability of the watercraft. In addition, this tends to cause the rear of the sponson to become more deeply submerged and can add to the resistance and inability to travel at high speeds.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved sponson design for a catamaran wherein high speeds are permitted and wherein the attitude of the watercraft will not significantly change as the speed increases.
When the sponsons are of the displacement type, it has been found that the nose of the sponson will enter into waves when travelling under less than calm conditions. It is desirable to configure the front of the sponsons so that they can readily cut into the waves, yet so that the water will clear them easily when the wave has past. It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved sponson configuration that improves its ability to handle waves.